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Shepherd-Hosein ninth-wicket stand leaves hearts in mouths right to the final delivery

Alan Gardner23-Jan-2022England 171 for 8 (Roy 45, Moeen 31, Holder 2-25) beat West Indies 170 for 8 (Shepherd 44*, Hosein 44*, Moeen 3-24) by 1 runEngland climbed off the canvas in Bridgetown and narrowly survived a battering by West Indies’ ninth-wicket pair to level the T20I series with a one-run victory. The home side were 98 for 8 and needing 74 to win from 29 balls, only for Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein’s extraordinary onslaught to leave hearts in mouths right to the final delivery.Asked to bat first after Kieron Pollard again won the toss, England started cautiously – as might befit a team which had been 49 for 7 before barely scraping into three figures the previous afternoon. Jason Roy eventually opened up to lash 45 from 31 balls, while his stand of 61 in 6.2 overs with Moeen Ali gave England a platform. Despite losing 3 for 15 in the space of 13 deliveries, the tourists kept hammering away, Chris Jordan again proving effective on his old stomping ground after being promoted to No. 7.In the chase, West Indies quickly came unstuck. Reece Topley, almost six years after his previous appearance, claimed a wicket with his second legitimate delivery and then effected a superb run-out in his follow through to leave West Indies 7 for 2. Nicholas Pooran and Darren Bravo repaired some of the damage but at 33 for 2 at the end of the powerplay, the required rate was already approaching ten an over.Although a fresh surface offered better value for shot-making, the pressure soon told. Moeen claimed three wickets and Adil Rashid two as England’s spinners kept the screws on during the middle overs, West Indies lurching from 47 for 2 to 65 for 7. The tail wagged vigorously, with Shepherd and Hosein’s late assault serving up a reminder of England’s death-bowling woes, but they had been left with (just) too much catching up to do.Victory finally gave England’s supporters something to savour amid a gruelling winter across formats and continents. It had been almost three months since they beat Sri Lanka in Sharjah at the T20 World Cup, with the seven defeats and a draw from eight subsequent fixtures encompassing a semi-final exit, another Ashes disaster and then Saturday’s nine-wicket hammering.Moeen Ali claimed a T20I career-best 3-24•Getty Images

Shepherd, Hosein put Windies up EnglandPollard spoke at the toss of the importance of consistency for a West Indies side featuring several young players looking to find their feet at international level. But after a tone-setting display in the first T20I, this seemed like a performance of familiar failings – missed chances in the field proving costly, before they nosedived into trouble with the bat.The result looked a foregone conclusion when Fabian Allen picked out square leg at the start of the 16th over, but the folly of West Indies’ top order not looking to take the game deeper was then exposed as Shepherd and Hosein almost snatched a sensational victory from the jaws of miserable defeat. Jordan’s 18th over went for 23, bringing flashbacks to England’s T20 World Cup semi-final loss against New Zealand, before Saqib Mahmood threatened to go to pieces defending 30 from the final over.Hosein hit two fours from three legitimate balls, to go with a couple of wides, and although England were mathematically safe Mahmood could not afford any more extras. He was duly beasted for 6-6-6, as Hosein finished unbeaten on 44 from 16 – doubling his previous best score in T20 cricket – but with his head in his hands. Shepherd had 44 off 28 at the other end, their unbroken 72-run stand setting a T20I record for the ninth wicket.Topley’s taleTopley had not been named in an England T20I XI since their second game at the 2016 World T20 – a tournament at which he bowled 4.1 overs at a cost of 55 runs. Four back stress fractures and endless months in rehab had left him questioning his future in the game, and although he returned to the ODI set-up in 2020 and played twice in India last year, a side strain prevented him from making a case for the World Cup in the UAE (although he was eventually called in as an injury replacement).Given the new ball after replacing Tymal Mills in Barbados, Topley immediately demonstrated the attributes that saw him capped by England as a 21-year-old. His third delivery was a full inswinger that rapped Brandon King on the front pad, dispatching the batter whose calm half-century had seen West Indies home in the first game – a marginal call in the end, though Hawk-Eye upheld umpire Nigel Duguid’s decision.Better was to come in Topley’s second over. Shai Hope dug out another inswinging bolt from on high, and seemingly got enough on it to send the ball back past the bowler. Topley flung his 6ft 7in frame down to half-stop it to his left, but still Hope thought he would able to scramble through – only for the bowler to turn, run and hurl himself full length, scooping the ball one-handed into the stumps with the opener short.”If that’s out, that is unbelievable!” Sam Billings, England’s wicketkeeper, could be heard saying on the stump mic. In fact, it could have been out twice, as replays showed the delivery had brushed Hope’s boot first and would have lbw if reviewed. Topley was denied another wicket when Liam Dawson dropped Pooran, but figures of 1 for 10 from three overs in the powerplay had left West Indies floundering.Shai Hope is run out by Reece Topley•Getty Images

Roy sparks (eventually)England could hardly have made a worse start to their innings this time around, having been 10 for 3 after two overs on Saturday. But after becoming the first of four batters to go boundary-and-then-out in the first T20I, Roy took a more circumspect approach in a bid to give the innings some solid foundations.Tom Banton made the early running, reverse-sweeping to good effect, and although England lost two wickets in the sixth over – Allen holding a sharp return catch off Banton before dislodging James Vince’s off bail – they were in reasonably good shape on 40 for 2 at the end of the powerplay.Roy had unleashed a couple of staccato bursts, reverse-chipping four and blasting Sheldon Cottrell down the ground, but by the halfway stage of the innings he had eked out 17 off 23. In a warm-up game a few days ago, he had creamed a 36-ball hundred; and all of sudden, with the resumption after drinks, he flicked the same switch.Allen had 2 for 26 from three overs at that stage, but saw his first ball carved through point. A dot followed, before Roy unleashed: a slog-sweep into the stands followed by one that disappeared out of the ground over long-on, then fours clubbed through midwicket and point. Although he fell two deliveries later, England had found their spark. From 64 for 2, they crunched 107 from the second ten.

“I think potentially not having it (reviews) affects the spectacle of the game,” says Heather Knight

Matt Roller20-Sep-2020The Decision Review System (DRS) will be available in a women’s bilateral series in England for the first time during West Indies’ tour, with the five-match T20I series starting Monday.The technology was available throughout the last two T20 World Cups, and in the ten televised games in the 50-over World Cup in 2017, but has only occasionally been used outside of them in women’s cricket. New Zealand used the technology in their series against India at the start of 2019 and against South Africa in early 2020, with India captain Mithali Raj critical of the “irregular” use of the system in the women’s game and calling for its permanent introduction.Last summer, both teams in the women’s Ashes called for DRS to be introduced in bilateral internationals after England batter Fran Wilson was incorrectly given out lbw in the first ODI, with replays showing that the ball had hit her glove rather than her pad.ALSO READ: How can women’s cricket learn to use DRS better?“You always want the best as players, and DRS is the best,” Heather Knight, England’s captain, said. “I’d imagine the reason, as usual in women’s cricket, is money, as to why we don’t have it.”I think potentially not having it affects the spectacle of the game. Sometimes decisions go your way and it’s obviously the same for both sides but in an ideal world we would have DRS.”Matthew Mott, the Australia coach, said, “I must admit I think if you’ve got the technology there and you’ve got enough cameras, it should come in. It certainly makes sense for me to have it if we can.”Under the ICC’s playing conditions, the use of DRS in women’s internationals is at the discretion of the participating boards, as is the case in men’s internationals.England’s series against West Indies begins on Monday, with all five T20Is being played behind closed doors at Derby. Both sides will have two reviews available per innings, in all five matches.1140, September 21 – This story was updated to reflect the use of technology in New Zealand’s home series

ESPNcricinfo’s live updates and analysis of Afghanistan v Australia at the World Cup

Deivarayan Muthu01-Jun-2019

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Mar-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
2:49

‘Wasim Jaffer’s hunger to play cricket is exceptional’

Wasim Jaffer couldn’t get to his third first-class triple century, but Vidarbha continued to grind Rest of India on a truncated third day In Nagpur.In the 28 overs that were possible, Vidarbha added 104 for the loss of Jaffer and Akshay Wadkar, the wicketkeeper, on a flat VCA stadium deck at Jamtha in Nagpur. When early stumps were drawn because of bad light, Vidarbha had progressed to 702 for 5, with Apoorv Wankhade one short of his second first-class hundred. Aditya Sarwate, the offspinner, was unbeaten on 4.Siddarth Kaul provided an early breakthrough immediately after play began following a two-hour delay due to rain. He produced a fine delivery that swung in late to beat the inside edge and castle Jaffer. He sent down 36 overs for two wickets in all. The spinners – R Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem and Jayant Yadav- picked up one wicket each across 136 overs.Wankhede, who resumed on 44, played freely but rode luck when left-arm spinner Nadeem dropped him off his own bowling. He continued to pile on the runs from there on and come within touching distance of a century when bad light forced an early end to proceedings.With just two full days remaining, the prospects of the game being decided on the first innings looks the most likely.

A round-up of the Group B matches on the opening day of the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017Dinesk Karthik’s 118 off 97 balls took Tamil Nadu to 314 for 8 and set up their eventual 42-run win over Delhi at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack. After being put in, Tamil Nadu’s openers Kaushik Gandhi (41) and Ganga Sridhar Raju (33) came good, which took the team to 94 for 2 when Karthik came out. Karthik began by adding 58 for the fourth wicket with Vijay Shankar, before sharing a 105-run fifth-wicket stand with B Indrajith. Karthik was bowled by Ashish Nehra with the score on 276, having struck 13 fours and three sixes. Thereafter, Indrajith, and Antony Dhas’ late cameo ensured a strong finish. Nehra finished with 4 for 39 in nine overs.Shikhar Dhawan dominated the early part of Delhi’s chase, scoring 23 in an opening stand of 32 with Gautam Gambhir. Following Dhawan’s dismissal, Gambhir added 86 with Dhruv Shorey. Both batsmen struck half-centuries, but Delhi slid from 118 for 1 to 136 for 4. A late half-century stand for the seventh wicket between Milind Kumar and Pawan Negi brought the chase back to life. But Delhi’s hopes came crashing down with Milind’s dismissal for 68, with 49 still needed. Delhi were bowled out shortly thereafter for 272.At the KIIT Stadium, Gurinder Singh’s career-best 61 at No. 7 took Tripura to a tense two-wicket win in a slow-scoring thriller against Kerala. After electing to bowl, Tripura restricted Kerala to 233 for 9, helped new-ball bowler Abhijit Sarkar’s 3 for 41. In reply, Tripura made 235 for 8 in 49.2 overs to win with four balls to spare.That Kerala were lifted to 233 was down to captain Sachin Baby and Salman Nizar, who helped them recover from 60 for 5. The duo shared a 120-run stand before Baby was bowled for 77 by Sanjay Majumder. But Nizar carried on and remained unbeaten on 82 – his best List A score – as Kerala scored 53 runs in the last nine overs. Like Kerala, Tripura were helped by a sixth-wicket partnership. Gurinder, who walked out at 86 for 5, took them to 161 in the company of Yashpal Singh before the latter was caught behind off Sandeep Warrier. Sanjay Majunder then dominated a seventh-wicket stand of 49 before both batsmen fell on the same score. But Sarkar and Dwaipayan Bhattacharjee fought nerves to see their team through.Maharashtra won a run glut against Himachal Pradesh by 25 runs in Tangi. After being inserted, Maharashtra put up 376 for 7 on the back of debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden List A century. Likewise, Prashant Chopra struck a century opening the innings in Himachal’s chase, but left-arm spinner Jagdish Zope’s 4 for 60 on List A debut ensured Himachal were bowled out for 351.Gaikwad set up Maharashtra’s platform with a 167-run opening stand with Vijay Zol (62). He added 53 more for the second wicket with Ankit Bawne before being bowled by Bipul Sharma’s left-arm spin. Naushad Shakih then took charge of proceedings, and along with Shrikant Mundhe, punished Himachal. Naushad struck 72 off 39 balls with eight fours and three sixes, while Mundhe’s 42 came off 20 balls and with the help of three fours and as many sixes.Chopra’s even 100 in the chase came off 85 balls. He began by putting on 98 with his opening partner Ankush Bains (38), before following it up with 68 with Robin Bist (46) for the second wicket. With Bist falling for 46, caught off Anupam Sanklecha, Himachal were in a bit of a wobble at 227 for 6. But Ankit Kaushik mounted a late fightback, and along with Bipul Sharma (20) and Pankaj Jaiswal (24), took Maharashtra close. But Zope, who had taken out the openers, returned to dismiss the last two batsmen. Kaushik was unbeaten on 59 off 34 balls, with five fours and four sixes.

Women’s cricket will never lose its longer form components under James Sutherland’s watch, despite murmurings beneath him at Cricket Australia about exploiting the commercial gains of the inaugural WBBL by making the female game an exclusively Twenty20 af

Daniel Brettig24-Jan-20163:37

Brettig : Women cricket needs two format to be strong and vital

Women’s cricket will never lose its longer form components under James Sutherland’s watch, despite murmurings beneath him at Cricket Australia about exploiting the commercial gains of the inaugural WBBL by making the female game an exclusively Twenty20 affair.ESPNcricinfo has learned of discussions that open up the possibility of the 50-over and Test match formats being phased out altogether. There has been talk of phasing out the state-based Women’s National Cricket League after the 2017 World Cup, following on from previous discussions that the city-based WBBL teams should replace, not just complement, well established state identities.These ideas have not been taken to the ICC, nor are they on the table of other boards such as the ECB or BCCI. Nevertheless, they do represent the opinions of some senior CA executives, who have seen the commercial potential of the WBBL in grasping of an impressively strong television audience when aired on the Ten Network – pulling larger audiences than for the WNBA, among other global competitions.As chief executive of CA, Sutherland must balance commercial concerns with those of Australian cricket in total, and spoke out strongly in favour of retaining at least two formats for women when asked about the possibility of a T20-only future. Chief among his points was the value of the WNCL as a way to expose and develop the players who are now starring in the WBBL, the final of which is being played on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.”Our strategy does talk about the Twenty20 format being the most obvious vehicle to drive growth in the women’s game, participation and public interest, but at the same time we’re not at all interested in the concept of turning our back on the 50-over format,” Sutherland told ESPNcricinfo.”Domestic cricket is not just about learning who the champion team is, it’s about creating opportunities for people to develop as players so they can walk into international cricket and be able to cope with it. That development aspect is really important and we need to make sure the WNCL is a really strong and competitive environment for women in the one day format.”We see that it’s an integral part of the women’s game, it’s really important in terms of the development of skills, and also variety in terms of the way the women play, both at club level but also international level. We’re absolutely committed to two women’s formats of the game.”Australia’s female cricketers are overwhelmingly in favour of ensuring the WNCL keeps its place as the prime breeding ground for cricket talent, in much the same way as the Sheffield Shield underpins the men’s game. While it is unlikely that Test matches will expand beyond their current place as a single component of the multi-format Ashes, diversity of experience is viewed as essential to developing the best possible cricketers.Sutherland said there would be discussions about whether this season’s early finish of the state competition would be changed, and reiterated that there was no rush to push women’s cricket in the most commercially expedient directions. More important to him is growing the game as a popular option for women and girls.”We will reflect on this current summer, the first time we introduced the WBBL and had the WNCL earlier on, whether we’ve got the balance right in terms of the number of games – the balance between the two formats is something that we’ll review,” Sutherland said. “I’ve heard varying views and opinions on that, but we need to sit down in the cold, hard light of day and get some feedback and just work out how it has worked.”The BBL is starting to wash its face as a commercial proposition, but the strategy behind the men’s Big Bash League and the WBBL is very different. We don’t necessarily have short or even medium term aspirations for the WBBL to be a huge commercial proposition. The priority for us is all about demonstrating that cricket is a sport for girls too, and to send that message in a really positive and proactive way in the community to inspire girls to play the game.”Sutherland’s words echoed those of Belinda Clark, the manager of the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane. “Our intention is to continue to support two formats of the game domestically,” she said last year when the WBBL was launched.”That means making sure the Women’s National Cricket League still has a really meaningful place in the women’s calendar. There’s a number of models put forward so far to make sure that Australian cricket remains really dominant in the one-day format as well as T20.”

Chris Tremlett, Monty Panesar and Ben Stokes joined up with England’s squad for practice at Lord’s ahead of the second Test

George Dobell16-Jul-2013If Steven Finn required any reminder that his place in the England side was in jeopardy, he received it with the sight of Chris Tremlett joining the England squad for training at Lord’s on Tuesday.While Tremlett has not been called into the England squad, his appearance did underline his continuing interest to the selectors and was another step towards a potential return. Tremlett last played for England in the UAE in January 2012 but was forced home from that tour through injury. Since then he has twice undergone surgery and, after a modest start to the season with Surrey, has just started to bowl at something approaching his best form.Finn endured a chastening final day of the Trent Bridge Test. Trusted to bowl only 10 overs in Australia’s second innings – that is three fewer than James Anderson bowled in one spell on the final day – Finn was hit out of the attack in two overs on Sunday and missed a tricky, but potentially crucial, chance in the field.Monty Panesar, the Sussex left-arm spinner, and Ben Stokes, the Durham allrounder, also trained with the England squad on Tuesday, with Tremlett bowling Jonathan Trott in the nets. The nephew of Bermuda’s Dwayne Leverock, Kamau, who is currently playing with Horsham, was also involved.It might be wrong to read too much into the appearance of any of the three players. None of them are currently required by their county sides while others jostling for England places, the likes of Warwickshire’s Boyd Rankin and Kent’s James Tredwell, are currently involved in games. It was also an optional net, with only Finn, of the England bowlers utilised at Trent Bridge, opting to bowl.

The thousands who made their maiden trip to the brand new Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in the outskirts of Pune got their money’s worth as Pune Warriors pulled off a comprehensive 22-run win against Kings XI Punjab

The Report by Kanishkaa Balachandran08-Apr-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMarlon Samuels helped Pune Warriors post a competitive 166•AFP

The thousands who made their maiden trip to the brand new Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium in the outskirts of Pune, proudly and loyally filling the stands with blue, got their money’s worth as Pune Warriors India pulled off a comprehensive win against a struggling Kings XI Punjab. It was an all-round performance, led by an 81-run partnership for the third wicket between Robin Uthappa and Marlon Samuels which set them to a competitive 166 before a combined bowling effort sealed the game.A score of 166 is normally considered slightly above par in these conditions, but Warriors made it a winning total by creating opportunities by sound ground fielding, effecting two early run-outs and not giving Kings XI any leeway. Warriors recorded their second win in as many games and now share the top spot with Rajasthan Royals.Warriors made the right move at the start, promoting the experienced Samuels to No.3. However, some circumspect running, and a subsequent run-out of an out-of-sorts Jesse Ryder gave Kings XI early control.Samuels combined well with Uthappa to boost the scoring after Warriors were 43 for 2 after seven overs. The eighth over went for ten runs and the 10th, bowled by the left-arm spinner Bipul Sharma, went for 13.With the more experienced Praveen and Dimitri Mascarenhas proving more difficult to score off with their restrictive stump-to-stump lines, also with the keeper up to the stumps, the pair took to Bipul. Both used their feet, clearing long-off for sixes, one of which just beat David Hussey’s desperate leap at the edge of the rope. The duo also studied the field well, using the pace of the ball to fetch a couple of boundaries off deft touches to third man, with the fielder within the circle.Uthappa fetched an audacious six, off one hand, over long-off but the bowler Harmeet Singh got the better of Samuels in the same over, bowling him off a slower delivery. Harmeet’s following over yielded just a run and the wicket of Callum Ferguson, but his next was bitter-sweet. After bowling Uthappa with another slower delivery, Harmeet had to be taken out of the attack for bowling two full tosses above waist height. Bipul completed the over, which produced three massive hits over the on-side thanks to Manish Pandey and Steven Smith.The 19th over produced 27 runs, and from that point, Kings XI found it hard to bounce back. The chase never took flight for a sustained period to threaten Warriors. The short of a length deliveries from Ashok Dinda and Ashish Nehra skidded off the surface, making strokeplay difficult. Smith’s fielding created the opportunities to derail the top order with two run-outs.Paul Valthaty sacrificed his wicket for the experienced Adam Gilchrist. Following an lbw appeal, the ball deflected to the off side but Gilchrist’s anxiety to get back on strike caused a communication mishap and Valthaty helplessly ambled out of his crease before the bails were broken at the non-striker’s end. The sacrifice didn’t help as Gilchrist himself was run-out the following over, failing to beat an agile pick-up and throw from Smith at short midwicket.Kings XI were poking around at 13 for 2 after five overs, with just one boundary. The drought had extended to 26 balls before Mandeep Singh cut Rahul Sharma to the deep point rope. However, even Mandeep failed to set a base and fell for 24, nicking Ryder to the keeper in an attempt to force the pace.Kings XI also lost the game tactically by not promoting Hussey, a batsman capable of turning a game. Hussey, Abhishek Nayar and Piyush Chawla all made starts, but the fact that none of the recognised batsmen scored more than 24 summed up what was a sorry batting performance. Late hitting by Bipul only reduced the margin of defeat.Edited by Abhishek Purohit

Chris Gayle has said that the way he had been treated by the WICB had left him with little choice but to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the 2011 IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2011Chris Gayle has said the way he had been treated by the West Indies board (WICB) had left him with little choice but to join the Royal Challengers Bangalore squad for the 2011 IPL and miss the home series against Pakistan. A day after the WICB said it was disappointed at how Gayle had handled the IPL issue, the batsman has hit back, claiming the board had not checked on his rehabilitation from injury after the World Cup, and that he had been “stunned” to learn from the media of his omission from the squads for the Twenty20 and the first two ODIs against Pakistan.In a hard-hitting interview with KLAS Sports, a radio station in Jamaica, Gayle also poured scorn on the role of the West Indies coach, Ottis Gibson, dismissing him as a “user”, and blaming him for wrecking the confidence of his fellow veteran batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan during the World Cup. “The coach messed up the man mentally,” he said. “The players were not in the right frame of mind. Sarwan was batting without a free mind. Players told me they lost confidence. A player speaks his mind in team meetings openly… The player said his piece… After that, he never play another World Cup match. But me talk with my mouth and me talk with my bat.””A group of players were selected for a training camp in Barbados, and I never got a call, nobody spoke to me, and I decided to leave it alone,” Gayle said. “I continued my training programme, and I came to find out via the media that a Twenty20 squad was announced, and a one-day international squad was announced, and I was stunned when I saw a big headline in the newspapers, ‘Gayle, Sarwan, Chanderpaul dropped’.”Gayle said no one from the WICB had contacted him before the squads had been named. “The only communication I have had with anyone connected with the WICB was when I sent a text message to (team physio) CJ Clark, and gave him an update about how I was doing,” he said. “I told him I was feeling good, the progress I was making; I was running, I was in the gym, and working. His only response was that he would send a fitness programme, which I did not receive until the IPL offer had presented itself.””I wanted to get back on track as quickly as possible. I wanted to play and represent West Indies. This was my ultimate goal, since I did not have a contract, but I was forced into this decision because teams were picked, I was not informed about what was happening, and I did not know what the future would hold. The matches could be played, and other players do well, and I could still be sitting on the sidelines, so I had no other choice.”I have served West Indies for many years, but I was disrespected a lot, and I have been playing under a lot of pressure. I can’t sleep properly. I need to get this off my chest. I want everybody to print what I said, I want to clear the air and I want them to ease up. WICB… back up offa my back.”Gayle’s explanation, however, was at odds with what the WICB said in a release soon after it granted him the no-objection certificate, clearing his participation in the IPL. The board claimed it had been in communication with Gayle.”At the conclusion of the cricket World Cup, Gayle underwent a medical examination in the UK,” the WICB said. “Following Gayle’s consultation with a UK doctor it was determined that he would require at least two to three weeks of rest before returning to training.”The WICB medical personnel had been communicating with Gayle on the status and management of his injury since his return to Jamaica following the Cricket World Cup, this included arrangements for his rehabilitative programme. Gayle was undergoing rehabilitative work with an appointed physiotherapist and had already attended ten sessions. The next phase was to include sport-specific training along with a running programme.”After the resumption of training the WICB team management would have organised a fitness test to assess Gayle’s fitness and decisions would have then been taken about his selection to the West Indies team to face Pakistan. It is clear that there was no way that Gayle could have been considered for selection for the first two ODIs given the facts outlined above.”The WICB said it was surprised to learn that Gayle had been making arrangements to play cricket in India when it was under the clear impression that he was undergoing rehabilitation work and about to resume training. “In discussing his application for an NOC, the WICB has repeatedly informed Gayle that he is expected to resume training after which he would be required to undergo a fitness test and once passed fit, he will be considered for selection for the remainder of the Pakistan series.”

Zimbabwe cricket is taking small but important steps back to normalcy, and their participation in a major global event is an important part of that process

Liam Brickhill01-May-2010

Overview

Zimbabwe will rely on their spinners to bog the opposition in helpful conditions•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Zimbabwe cricket is taking small but important steps back to normalcy, with several former players opting to return to a revamped domestic competition under a board that is keen to present itself as amiable and open to progress. Their participation in a major global event is an important part of that process, especially after they were forced to miss the last edition of the tournament in England last year.There were positive signs on their tour of the region six weeks ago, although the team unravelled against a resurgent West Indies as the series wore on. With the national coaching position in limbo at the time, Zimbabwe suffered through unimaginative team selections and their lack of batting depth was also exposed on occasion, as when they sank to 104 all out in the third ODI with the series in the balance.New coach Alan Butcher will be hoping to make a difference to their fortunes and instill a positive attitude as quickly as possible, but Zimbabwe are sure to struggle against New Zealand and Sri Lanka’s experienced campaigners.However, as Butcher recently remarked, one inspired performance can be enough to turn a game in this format. With their victories over Australia at the 2007 tournament and in the warm-ups for this competition, and against West Indies last month, a shock win cannot be ruled out.

Twenty20 pedigree

Zimbabwe are relative novices in the format, having played just eight internationals in four years. They did not take part in the last World Twenty20 tournament in England, and will have to draw on the experience gained in their domestic Twenty20 competition and familiarity with West Indian conditions as they hope to spring a surprise. They will be buoyed by the fact that they are playing both of their group games at the Providence Stadium in Guyana, where they beat West Indies in the first match of their recent ODI series and pushed them in the second.

Strengths and weaknesses

Given the likelihood of a slow, low wicket, Zimbabwe’s game plan will revolve around their spin-bowling department. Ray Price took the new ball in several games on their tour of the West Indies in March, and may very well do so again in this tournament, while with Prosper Utseya, Graeme Cremer, Greg Lamb and Timycen Maruma in their stable, Zimbabwe have plenty of spin-bowling depth. Their batting line-up, on the other hand, is notoriously brittle and will no doubt struggle against their opponents’ experienced attacks.

Key men

Zimbabwean wickets tend to fall in heaps, and so while Hamilton Masakadza’s contributions at the top of the order will be important, quick runs from Elton Chigumbura at the tail end of the innings will be vital to paper over the cracks in the middle order. He was Zimbabwe’s leading run-scorer in the West Indies in March, and, as the most experienced seamer in a spin-heavy attack, he also picked up six wickets at a touch over 24 in the series.

X-factor

Andy Blignaut has trod an unconventional path in his cricket career, but amid the controversies, disputes with the administration and a brief dabble in male modelling, there have been telling performances with bat and ball. Tailor-made for Twenty20 cricket, Blignaut announced his comeback with a match-winning unbeaten 63 against the Mountaineers in Zimbabwe’s domestic competition and could form an explosive pairing with the hard-hitting Chigumbura in the lower order.

Vital stats